Antique/Vintage Tea and Tea Ware

In Japan there is a way to repair treasured pieces by filling the break or crack with lacquer which is covered with a huge variety of colors. One is gold powder. Here is an example of this repair done on one of my teapots with silver.

I purchased a Republican Period (1912-1949) tea container years ago and it was missing its lid. I found a tin smith on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheVillageTinner I gave him the measurements and he built this fantastic lid. It will darken with age and become a dull grey. He can add a finish which will give the tin that aged look, but I wanted to watch it age. He was really very nice to work with and I highly recommend him for anybody who might be missing a lid. He said he was also able to make tin tea containers, so that might also be really interesting.

It is such a joy to have a lid for this container, making it useable once again.

IPT wrote:In Japan there is a way to repair treasured pieces by filling the break or crack with lacquer which is covered with a huge variety of colors. One is gold powder. Here is an example of this repair done on one of my teapots with silver.

Thanks! I learn something new every day. Good to know that can be done... just in case

night.owl wrote:Very nice, IPT! I like that you find things you like, and make them work. I'm kind of the same way with treasured finds.

Thank you. I really do try to use all of my pieces unless they are dangerous, as in lead based glazes. I love using old pieces. It makes tea sessions so much more meaningful. Plus, it is a great way to begin conversations. I look forward to seeing more of your treasures.

This past week at an antique store in Canada, I came across an old tea-bowl in a glass display case that I instantly caught my attention. One of the employees took it out for my inspection, and it wasn’t long before they dug out about 20 others that were tucked away in storage. I knew I was going to take one home, but it was harder than picking out a new puppy – you want to take them all, but you know you can’t.

I saw (fondled… drooled over) their entire collection in person, most are in perfect condition, a few have minor rim chips, and one has a crack. Several still have barnacles! I told the owner that I was going to be posting my find on TeaChat, and asked that if anyone were to be interested, would they send pictures, and be willing to ship, and they said definitely YES. They cost $225, not including tax or shipping, and come fully authenticated.

Apparently, they were sold off in lots, and someone in Canada bought one, and distributed it to a few local antique stores, where most have languished due to lack of interest. The store where I bought mine had the lion’s share of the collection, and the best price (and condition). This is the link for his store: http://www.jonnysantiques.ca/currentstock.html (contact them through the Shakespeare address, not the Toronto one. That’s the store where I saw them).

He is expecting inquiries, just mention TeaChat and the tea enthusiast from Virginia who recently bought one. I would also request that they send a photocopy of the Christies auction catalog, just to have around. It’s very informative, and gives some great background.

Sorry, my camera stinks for close-ups, so I have one pic from the other thread, and one from the internet for clarity. I wish you could see mine close-up, it has the most amazing crackles in it! I’ll have to try and borrow a better camera…

Attachments

This is one from the Internet, uploaded for clarity.

1-3192.jpg (9.35 KiB) Viewed 2387 times

This is my new baby!

Vung Tao Cargo 1690 (3).jpg (48.74 KiB) Viewed 2387 times

Last edited by night.owl on Aug 28th, '11, 23:46, edited 1 time in total.

night.owl wrote:Very nice, IPT! I like that you find things you like, and make them work. I'm kind of the same way with treasured finds.

Thank you. I really do try to use all of my pieces unless they are dangerous, as in lead based glazes. I love using old pieces. It makes tea sessions so much more meaningful. Plus, it is a great way to begin conversations. I look forward to seeing more of your treasures.

I hope to post more (and better) pictures of my finds soon!

Last edited by night.owl on Aug 29th, '11, 09:34, edited 1 time in total.

I only have one set of vintage teaware (so far), actually, but I thought I'd share anyway. There's actually a bit of a funny story behind it--I was visiting my grandmother a couple of years ago, and I was talking to her about everything I'd learned about tea--I was still pretty new to tea-drinking, and eager to share my new obsession.

Anyway, my grandmother mentions that while she and my grandfather were stationed in Japan after WWII, she'd picked up a Japanese tea set. She had never used it--she doesn't even drink tea!--and she offered it to me. We dug the set out from where it had just been sitting in a box for the last 40+ years, and this is what we found:

So I ended up going home with almost a full Satsuma tea set, teapot, sugar bowl, creamer, cups and saucers. All the pieces are marked 'CPO' on the bottom (for Central Purchasing Office, meaning they were produced for export specifically for the American military bases in Japan, according to the interwebs). A few of the saucers are chipped around the edges, and the creamer has lost its lid somewhere during all those years ... but overall the set is still gorgeous.

My pictures, sadly, do not do it justice--it's really a wonderful set, and I couldn't believe my grandmother had never used it until I came along!